A past forgotten
by mollyedith
Summary: So this is my take on how the rebellion in the past life could have happened, along with how Serena's friends and family find out about her and how they become the Neo King and Queen. Quick summary- Darien's birthday party is interrupted by an old enemy that no one seems to remember except Pluto, to find out they journey back to the Moon.


**Planning**

Serena sat at her favourite spot in the kingdom wondering how she got into this position.

It was just a normal day, with Darien and the girls at the arcade, Andrew shut early since it was Darien's birthday, just a normal party, how could she have thought that would be possible?

Three days earlier…

"You're joking?!" she squealed, Darien was turning twenty in three days and he didn't want to celebrate.

Twenty was the coming of age number to become a legal adult, and with the new enemy it was the perfect excuse for a party to blow off steam.

"Serena, I've been alone pretty much all my life, I grew up years ago, I don't need a party" he protested.

"But you have too!" she whined sitting up straighter on the couch "Amara and Michelle, even Trista and Hotaru are in town, it's the perfect get together"

"Do you really need an excuse to see them?" he argued playfully.

"Of course not! But wouldn't it be nice to have everyone around on your birthday?"

He sighed, looking at his girlfriend's pleading eyes, bottom lip jutting out further than necessary.

He could see Rini in there, so this is where she got her persuasion lessons.

"Honestly? I love the girls like sisters, but the only one I care about being around on my birthday is you" he said sincerely, she smiled her heart-warming smile and he thought he was free of this party.

Her face turned into different shapes of emotions; consideration, compassion, sympathy and then a stern finality.

"No dice, were having a party" and that was it, she turned back to the TV smiling and there was no more, he sighed and knew he would just have to endure whatever she was planning.

Ok maybe endure was a strong word, he did love the girls, they were the sisters he never had.

Even if there were eight of them! The nights he had spent with all of them babbling about boys, make up, exams, and parties. Some of which resulted in some kind of squabble between Serena and Rei where he and the rest of them would do damage control just gave him headaches. But he wouldn't trade any of them for the world because when it came down to it, they would sacrifice anything for each other, he had seen it first-hand. They were the family he never had.

And there were Andrew and Rita who would most likely be there, knowing Serena she would get Andrew to invite one or two friends from class, of course she would most likely invite Molly and Melvin.

All in all the guest list wouldn't be bad, so long as Melvin stayed away from his girlfriend…

The next day Serena set out on her mission for Darien's birthday party.

"Hey Serena! The usual?" Andrew asked as she entered the arcade.

"Hey Andrew! Yeah, and I need a favour!" she said

"What do you need?" he asked while preparing her drink.

"Well you know Darien's birthday is the day after tomorrow" Andrew immediately began laughing.

"And let me guess, you want to celebrate and he's being as stubborn as a mule?" she nodded while sipping her drink.

"Well, every year I try and get him to do something on his birthday and he just insists on coming here for a drink and then going home, so what can I do?" he asked mischievously, her eyes brightened.

"Ok, the girls are in town, so I wanted to throw a party, not a huge one because I know he won't like it, but if you can just get some of his friends from class and we'll need this place and-

"Serena!" Andrew put his hand on her shoulder "Don't worry, we'll throw him a small get together that he'll love, leave the food and venue to me, just have him here around 6, that way you two can have the day together"

She threw her arms around his neck squeezing in appreciation "Ah thanks Drew!" he laughed in response "Serena your crushing me" She laughed and sighed in relief, she knew she could count on Andrew to pull this off, now she needed the girls to do party shopping.

The next day, she barely saw Darien, she was too busy planning his birthday. She and the girls spent the whole day buying party necessities and all of them insisted on getting him a gift, he was turning twenty after all.

Whereas Darien spent the day with his nose in a book because knowing Serena she would have him so busy he wouldn't get to study, despite popular belief of him just being an introvert, he actually enjoyed studying. He had the feeling that Amy would be doing the same as him if she hadn't already been roped into party planning, but knowing her she probably had a book on the go.

Darien woke up early on his birthday.

But to his utter shock it was because Serena was ringing his doorbell like there was no tomorrow, it was 6:30 in the morning! He started laughing at her enthusiasm and made his way to the door before she woke up the rest of his building.

When he opened the door she jumped up to his arms "Happy Birthday!" she pulled back and her face turned scarlet as she realized he was only wearing his boxers, he laughed and pulled her into a kiss "Thank you" he stood and smiled at his princess "Well I never thought I'd see the day where _you_ were the one that got _me_ out of bed" he laughed.

She whacked him playfully "I can get up early if I want to!" she protested as he went to retrieve some clothes "Anyway I couldn't wait to give you your present!" he came back and suddenly noticed that she was carrying a small gift bag in her hands with a big 'happy birthday' logo written across it.

He smiled and pulled her into his arms again. "You know you're all I want, you don't have to get me anything"

"But I wanted to, I saw this and thought of you straight away" she mumbled, and she felt him laugh again.

"Alright, thank you" he kissed her forehead and she gave him the bag.

Inside the bag was a small black box, bigger than a ring box, with some patterns engraved into the side, he remembered from European history that it was Celtic.

Opening the box he found a leather cuff inside with different shades of black, browns and grays, leather ropes carefully and intricately knotted in traditional Celtic ways around the brown cuff which had a specific pattern burned into it.

He remembered when he told Serena about this legend, when he told her about his parents wedding rings, and was pleasantly surprised that she remembered because that was at least three years ago if he remembered rightly.

_"They're beautiful!" she said in wonder looking at the two gold rings he had on a chain._

_"The doctors let me keep them, since my memory was really bad they thought that these might help me remember something" he said he her one day, it was the first day she had been in his bedroom and found them hanging above the bed frame._

_"They're so unique" she mused and he nodded "The Claddagh ring pattern was a symbol originated in Ireland hundreds of years ago and was still around today and exchanged as a symbol of love" he explained "I did some research when I was a teenager, but it wasn't until I got my memories back of the past after Beryl that my amnesia completely healed and I could remember parts of my childhood"_

The cuff was beautiful.

And there it was, the heart with two hands and a crown sitting there as an exchange of her love for him.

He turned it over in his hands and noticed another burn on the inside, some writing that said 'to my prince from your princess'. He didn't think it was possible to love this woman more but every day he managed to fall a little deeper.

"Serena" he breathed

She stood in front of him nervously waiting for a reaction from him, he saw the worry in her eyes.

"Serena it's beautiful" she smiled at him

"So you like it?"

"It's perfect, I love it, thank you!" He said while kissing her again "So what are we doing today?" he asked while he put his new favorite possession.

"It's your birthday, what would you like to do?" she asked while moving to the kitchen cupboards.

"Isn't there a party in my honor?"

"Of course, but that's not until tonight" she said sweetly "I figured you'd like to do something of your own choice today"

Well he wasn't expecting that, he thought that she's have an hour by hour itinerary for the whole day. She was giving him a choice.

Serena retrieved some biscuits from the cupboard and came to sit with him "So, what does the birthday boy want to do?"

"Hmm, well since I have a whole day until this party you deserted me for, how about the botanical garden? We haven't been there in a while"

"Sounds like heaven" she smiled.

The day was perfect, Darien couldn't have asked for a better birthday, he and Serena had spent the day at the gardens, it had felt like forever ago since they had gone with Rini and Hotaru, in fact, thinking about it that must have been over a year ago now, when the roses were last in bloom.

Now they were back at his apartment after stopping by her house to get her party dress to get ready.

He had just stepped out of the shower while she stood in her dress on the balcony.

She and the girls had all bought something new since this was a big birthday, even Amara and the other girls came, granted Amara took some persuading since her idea of shopping was not the same as the other girls but they all managed to find something suitable. So she stood in a cream knee length dress with thin straps waiting for Darien to get ready.

Walking into the bedroom, he was once again half naked, only wearing his trousers while looking through the wardrobe for his favorite shirt.

"You don't have to go tonight" he suddenly heard her voice behind him, he turned to see his angel.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he walked toward her

"You didn't want the party anyway so, you don't have to go" she said looking at the floor.

He knew something was bothering her she had gone very quiet since arriving home "Of course I want to go, you've put so much effort into it"

"No, it's ok, really, if you don't want to go"

"Ok fess up, what's going on?"

"Nothing, I just realized that I always drag you into stuff you don't want to do and thought maybe it's time to stop" she mumbled, he just laughed at that, there had been many occasions where she dragged him somewhere against his will. Bikini shopping had to be the worst, especially when all the girls were there. But in truth, those were some of the best days in his memory.

No one knew him better than himself better than she did, which made him believe that there was something more bothering her.

"Serena, you've been so cheery and happy today, now I step out of the shower and there's a completely different girl standing here"

She sighed, and he pulled her over to sit on the bed.

"We both know you have no problem taking me places I don't really want to go" he laughed

"But you know I never mind because I always have a good time at the end because I'm with you" she was just fiddling with the hem of her dress, there was a ghost of a smile there, but she still wouldn't look up.

"Besides, I've been looking forward to this through out the day so will you tell me what's bothering you all of a sudden?"

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in "We haven't had any attacks in a while" was all she said.

And the penny dropped. They hadn't really had great luck when it came to any of their birthdays.

Her fifteenth was a disaster, the next year he was dead, so neither of them got to celebrate either birthday.

And this new threat was very unpredictable, they still didn't know what they were after since they had only showed up twice. Both times they disappeared before they could even transform and defend themselves, or get any answers out of them. And both times they had been targeted directly, like they knew who they were from the beginning.

It was already clear that they were smart, these beings was very creepy and had been laying low for over a week now, they could attack at any moment, he understood why she was anxious.

"You're worried we'll be attacked" he said understandingly.

"Not just us, what if they attack some poor defenseless people and were all partying?" she said.

"We'll know if they show up, since defeating Galaxia your connection with the crystal has grown incredibly, you know you'll be able to sense them and we'll be ready" he encouraged. He could see the frown on her face turn to a calculative look. He was winning her over now.

"Besides, we don't know if they even will show up, we could get away with it this year" he said kissing her on the head. And then she smiled and exhaled "Ok, you finish getting dressed then"

"Yes ma'am"

**Party**

Despite knowing about the party, they all insisted on shutting off the lights and shouting surprise as the couple walked into the arcade.

They had really done a good job with only a day and a half planning he thought, though being friends with the arcade owner did help a lot. The arcade was closed early, Darien didn't miss the sign on the door that said 'closed due to maintenance'.

Serena had invited her school friends that Darien knew, which were only Molly and Melvin, and he was pleased that they were still together and that he didn't need to keep an eye on him. He remembered Serena whining about him years ago when they first began their adventures as warriors.

He noticed, Chad and Greg were also there, he got along with them well and was happy that some of the other girls were finally following their own love interests, god knew they deserved some happiness after everything they had all gone through.

Andrew had gotten some of his school friends to attend and to his surprise, he knew all of his class mates were busy preparing for the end of term exams just like he was, due to his disappearance in the past year he was now re-sitting the year again before finishing his degree now in Japan.

To his even greater surprise, Serena's parents and brother were also there smiling happily. Apparently the cooking credit couldn't go completely to Lita and Andrew.

He also understood Serena's fear a little better now.

The new enemy had attacked them directly both times before, if they were to show up tonight, then it would be difficult for them all to hide their identities. Even if they had discussed telling them about their identities, that was not how they wanted them to find out.

Sometimes he wondered how she managed to keep her secret life without them getting wind of her extra-curricular activities.

He also spotted Luna and Artemis sitting on the table of presents.

He could just picture Andrew's face when Serena asked if her cat could come to the party. Serena was right to tell him not to have dinner since Andrew and Lita had prepared a huge buffet of food to feed three times the amount of guests that were present.

There was a table next to the food with a small mountain of presents, he had never felt more blessed in his life. He couldn't remember ever having this many presents in his life.

Growing up in an orphanage he didn't make friends because he knew they would leave, now he had more friends than he thought possible.

Lita had spent the entire afternoon baking his Twentieth birthday cake, and it was amazing. He made a mental note to ask her for some cooking lessons.

The cake was simple but beautiful, white with two tiers and a big 3D 20 on the top and small roses lining the bottom.

For those guests who weren't part of the sailor gang they thought that Lita didn't know a thing about him, but he laughed at the private joke and thanked her kindly.

Festivities were enjoyed by all, Darien and Serena mingled and got caught up with everyone.

Since the battle with Galaxia had only ended a few months ago, they had spent most of their time together making up for the time Darien was gone, and so they hadn't really had a lot of time to get re-acquainted with their old friends. As it turned out this night was just what they all needed. Seeing as it was very short notice, his college friends could only stay for a couple of hours and had to leave the party early, but the festivities carried on.

After cake and presents, which Darien felt utterly blessed by, the guests settled into casual conversations while music played in the back-round.

To his own surprise he found himself talking battle strategies with Serena's father, Brother and Chad.

Granted they were talking about a game, but having been in real life situations like that he couldn't help but get sucked in, as did Amara to his even greater surprise.

He and Amara only ever really spoke about two topics since he had met her, the first was the safety of their princess and the second was car or motorbike troubles. It was nice to get to know her a little better.

Lita, Andrew and Ikuko were talking about the success of the food, Amy, Greg and Melvin stood in a heated debate about the college entrance exams.

Michelle, Rei, Trista and Hotaru were raving about Michelle's new art exhibit that was happening the following week. Though Michelle wasn't raving so much as standing in modesty.

Serena, Molly and Mina were talking about their next shopping trip even though they had only gone the day before.

Luna and Artemis were now curled up half asleep on the present table together buried in torn wrapping paper. Serena and Mina took great enjoyment in videoing the pair fighting over ribbon with each other.

They may be the most trusted advisors of the Moon Kingdom, but sometimes they forgot that they liked to play as much as the rest of them.

The night was a success, Serena could tell that all party members were having a good time, and forgot her fears from Darien's apartment.

And then she felt the cold in her stomach.

The enemy was close and the fear was gripping her. Her legs gave way and she grabbed Mina's arm for support, Darien immediately saw the change in his princess and ran to her side.

She looked up and saw his face "They're coming" was all she said, Luna and Artemis now stood growling next to them, they could feel it too.

The scouts stood ramrod forming a circle around the other guests.

"Serena, sweetie what's wrong?" her mother asked.

"Yeah, what's up with you guys?" Sammy joined while scoffing a cupcake. A sudden crash came as the window of the arcade shattered and the three new evil beings made their way casually toward the group.

The scouts stood guard in front of the mortals "What do you want?" Amara asked trying to look more calm than angry.

The middle being laughed, they always dressed entirely in grey, not unlike the guards of the Moon Kingdom of the past, if it weren't for their bright silver eyes they would look just like a few intimidating lawyers.

But since their last encounter with them they knew better than to underestimate them.

"You don't fool us, we want her" he spat looking at Serena. The girls and Darien formed a tighter shield in front of her "Protect the princess!" Amara shouted taking charge, they stood tensed, hands already holding their transformation pens.

"What?! Who on earth are you?!" Serena's father shouted, Darien grabbed him back behind himself "Don't" he said quietly.

"We are the rightful rulers of the Silver Millenin  
um and the Moon Kingdom!" he shouted angrily at them, now Serena got angry.

"Excuse me?! The only rightful ruler to the Moon Kingdom is me! I am the Princess and future Queen!"

"What?!" she forgot her family was present.

The enemies drew swords and crouched to attack, as if what Serena had said was all they needed to hear.

"That's enough!" Amara shouted "Scouts!" they needed no more instruction, ten of the guests glowed a rainbow of light and in their places stood the warriors of the Moon kingdom.

The other guests stood in shock and awe but before anyone could react, Pluto took charge.

"Saturn shield!" she ordered and Saturn followed, the enemy was blown back by Saturn's wall.

Pluto raised her staff above her head and swung it down, in the swing a bright light flowed.

"Everyone in!" she shouted, she had created a portal, where it led none of them knew, but they trusted her and so they shoved the mortals through with them.

"Mom, Dad, Sammy get in!" Sailor Moon half ordered half pushed them as Neptune and Venus shielded her protectively. Uranus grabbed Molly and Melvin as Mercury grabbed Greg's hand and pulled him with her, Mars did the same with Chad.

Tuxedo Mask and Jupiter grabbed Andrew and Rita and they ran into the portal.

Pluto and Saturn were the last through and sealed the entry behind them, leaving the three new enemies in the dust.

**Blast from the Past**

The group fell through the portal in a stumble into a pile of flailing limbs and pulling of hair.

"Agh everyone just stop moving!" Darien shouted "Parts are getting squashed" he added a little quieter.

"Ah sorry" Mercury blushed, pushing herself off him.

"Are we where I think we are?" Mars asked, dusting herself off.

"Were back on the Moon" Pluto confirmed, while looking up at the sky, checking the portal was sealed.

"Whoa, Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask!" Venus exclaimed

"Were back in the past?" Serena asked looking down at the white ball gown and Darien's armour they wore on the Moon Kingdom.

"No, this is the same time, the traditional garments just seems to be something that happens when we come back up here" Pluto said.

"But how is it back to normal? It was destroyed!" Mercury asked.

They all took a few seconds to look around. It was exactly the same as it was before Beryl attacked in the past, only without the people.

"I think it happened when the Princess sealed away chaos, a lot of things happened when she released the crystal's power that day, but I can't be sure" Pluto stated.

"Uh, can someone please tell us what's going on?" Andrew stood frightened with Rita clutching his arm behind him.

Serena noticed her family standing in a tight huddle completely terrified, as were Molly and Melvin.

"I can explain" she said, she smoothed down her gown and scratched her head "Mom, Dad, Uh..well, I'm Sailor Moon"

The next reaction was her mother fainting "Mom!" she exclaimed and ran to her side.

"Why don't we talk inside?" Pluto offered, gesturing to the grand palace in front of them.

They entered the palace into the great hall, Serena's memories were coming back in floods the more they walked around the kingdom. Darien held Serena's unconscious mother with her Father and brother anxiously on his tail.

"Wait" she said, the group paused as their Princess stood thinking "Through here" she guided them through a corridor and up a flight of stairs into another corridor.

It was long with doors every few meters, and at the end was a large set of double doors. It looked like a dormitory only this dormitory was a lot more elegant than something you'd find in a University, more like something from a fairy tale.

"Here" she said as she reached for a door handle, it led to an extravagant perfectly furnished bedroom with a large bed in the middle, Darien set her down on the bed.

"She'll be ok" he said, the doctor in him assessing her "It's just a fainting spell"

"These are the guest quarters of the kingdom, you are all welcome to a room for as long as we have to stay here" the princess said formerly and then snapped back, the girls looked at her skeptically "that was weird" she added.

Saturn laughed "looks like the princess in you is a lot stronger up here"

"It's so weird, it's like nothing has changed in the last thousand years" Serena mused looking out the window "It's like we never left" she added turning to face them.

Kenji was losing his temper now "What do you mean 'never left'? What is happening!?"

"Alright" Mars began calmly "Long story short, your daughter is Sailor Moon and also a very powerful Princess, this is her Kingdom, and we are her guardians" she added gesturing to the other scouts "and Darien is her prince, also Luna and Artemis can talk, in fact they are the best ones to explain all of this" she said scratching her head.

The mortals looked at her like she had just grown three extra heads and horns.

Luna hoped up on the bed next to Serena's mother and spoke "It's a relief to finally talk to you Kenji" this time Rita fainted, Andrew barely caught her and carried her to the bed and lay her next to Ikuko.

"And this is why secret identities are _secret_" Jupiter joked.

"So Plu, why did you bring us here?" Uranus asked

"I know who that enemy is, this is the only place he can't follow us" she said.

"What?!" they said in unison.

Pluto took a deep breath "He's the one that started the rebellion in the past"

She turned to the prince and princess "He's the reason you never got married before the war"

The group was stunned into silence, Serena and Darien took each other's hands without realizing it.

"What do you mean? Beryl started the rebellion" Mars questioned.

Pluto shook her head "Beryl started the war when Metalia gave her dark powers, this man started the rebellion that led to the war, whispering in her ear, his name is Theon"

"So Beryl wasn't the one that started all of this?" Darien asked.

"Not by herself" she answered.

"I think we should leave these two rest" Serena said calmly, and started walking out the door.

"Where are you going?" Darien asked as she pulled him with her.

"We'll get everyone caught up and then Plu can finish telling us about this Theon" she turned and motioned for everyone to follow "There's a sitting room down the hall"

The princess led the group down the corridor to the double doors at the end.

Through the doors they found a grand sitting room with large sofas and a huge marble table in the middle.

The wall was lined with windowed doors that led to a long balcony the length of the room, white curtains framed each door and a huge crystal chandelier hung in the center of the room. Only this chandelier wasn't powered with electricity, it was decorated with little balls of light. Like magic.

It looked like Cinderella's castle.

Everyone let out gasps of shock as they entered the room, everyone except Pluto, the Princess and the cats, who were smiling like it was good to be home.

"Your memories are strong up here" Pluto said to her Princess.

"It's like I never left" she turned to her friend "Almost like the life we've all been living is a dream and this is reality" Luna hopped up on a sofa and Serena ran a hand through her fur.

"It's all so clear" she smiled and then turned to the audience she forgot she had.

"Now, who wants to hear a story?" she asked smiling, mostly to the mortals that stood together at the back.

**Stories**

Serena sat at her favorite spot in the kingdom wondering how she got into this position.

It was just a normal day, with Darien and the girls at the arcade, Andrew shut early since it was Darien's birthday, just a normal party, how could she have thought that would be possible?

She felt a presence come from behind her, her senses were extremely attuned on the moon, like she could feel what was happening on the other side of the kingdom.

"Glad to see you up" she smiled at her mother who looked quite pale and shaken, she gestured for her to sit with her on the marble bench.

"I take it you've been filled in?" Ikuko nodded

"Your friends told me" She paused "And Luna, I still can't believe any of this!"

Serena laughed "It's a lot to take in, believe me I know" she said remembering when she found out she was the princess "That's why I came out here, this is where Darien and I met for the very first time you know" she smiled.

Ikuko sat silenced "There was an inter-galactic meeting, all of the planet's rulers came here for a time to discuss" she searched for the right word "Politics I guess, I hated the meetings, so I would come out here for air" she smiled.

"Darien was and still is the Prince of Earth so he was up here with the King and Queen learning about our Galaxy, just as I was, but just like me he would sneak away from the meetings" she looked straight at the lake in front of them, her mother was lost for words, and just sat listening to her daughter tell her about a memory from over a thousand years ago.

"It was always peaceful here, quiet, I was sitting in this spot when I saw something in the bushes" she started laughing at herself "He scared the life out of me, he sneaked away and got lost in the forest, I was captivated the second I saw his eyes on me, he apologized for startling me and we stayed here on this bench for hours talking"

"So you remember an entire other life?" her mother asked and Serena nodded "It's stronger up here, on Earth it takes some concentration with my powers, but I have a very strong connection to the Moon"

Ikuko sat and mused the thought "I'm completely confused, I don't understand at all" she turned and looked at her daughter, she looked so grown up with eyes full of wisdom "But I don't feel afraid, why is that?" the princess though about this.

"Well this is a place of peace, it's a magical place a place where it's easier to put things in order I guess, it's probably best that you found out up here rather than down on Earth, but then again, it could just be that you're dealing exceptionally well, lord knows I didn't handle it well" she laughed.

Her mother didn't know whether to laugh or cry or run away.

"This isn't how I wanted you to find out about me" Serena said solemnly "I planned on telling you, and Dad and Sammy"

"So you weren't going to keep it a secret?" she asked.

"I had considered it, but I felt like I owed you an explanation" she took her mother's hand "For all the times I would sneak out and come home late, torn clothes, hair a mess, making up lame excuses for not being home to do chores"

Her mother suddenly felt awful. All those times she mentioned, she had scolded Serena for and more. She sometimes wondered if her daughter would get her act together and grow up.

But now she knew the truth. All of those times she was out saving the entire planet.

Sailor Moon and the Scouts were forever on the news for eliminating some evil being in the sky, or a giant UFO, or when people would mysteriously go missing or drop unconscious to the floor.

"I wanted you to know about the other half of me" she paused and mused for a moment.

She had wanted to tell her about how serious her relationship was with Darien.

"And speaking of other halves" she looked her mother in the face, not knowing how she would react.

"Darien isn't just some crush, you may have realized a bit more now but he's my other half, my soul mate" Ikuko had suspected there was something more going on "And we're engaged, I wanted to tell you the truth because I wanted you to know who I was marrying"

"But all those times you would cry over him? When he went away to America"

"That's another really long story for another time, but know this. Every time I cried over him, it was never his fault" she left out the parts form when they first met and he would torment her with the name calling and abuse, and the time he broke up with her because he thought he was protecting her.

"There was always some evil behind those occasions, we've had to fight pretty hard to be together"

"And you're happy?" it was all that really mattered.

"As soon as we get rid of this new creep I'll be perfect" she smiled.

Back in the palace Darien and the girls were in the sitting room discussing a plan of action. The other guests were sitting together trying to wrap their heads around what had happened in the past few hours.

The only ones that seemed as un-phased as the scouts were Sammy and Chad who were sitting listening intently.

"So this is what you guys always do?" Sammy asked Darien excitedly, he smiled at the boy he had grown so fond of.

"Well this situation is rather new to us too, we haven't been back up here in a very long time. We usually do this kind of thing on Earth, either in Rei's temple or my apartment"

"Yeah and since were stuck up here until we find a plan of attack, can we at least change our clothes? Why can't we de-transform?" Venus asked looking down at her uniform.

"It must be something to do with the magic of the kingdom, a traditional thing, since Serena and Darien reverted to their royal garments, and the others were never from this time or place so they were unaffected" Mercury said logically.

"Yeah well I don't plan on sleeping in my outfit" Jupiter added.

"You think you have it bad, try wearing this thing" Darien joked, tapping his armor.

"Is everything back to normal up here?" he asked Pluto.

"I'd say so, our princess did wonders with the crystal that day, everything has been restored to just before the kingdom was attacked - wait where are you going?" she asked as Darien nodded and turned to leave the room.

"If I remember right, I have some very out of fashion civilian clothes in Serenity's old room, you guys probably have your old garments in your old rooms too, if were stuck up here for the time being, may as well get comfortable" he said practically

"Who's Serenity? Molly asked

"Serenity is Serena's past life name, sorry it's slipping up more up here" he said.

"What kind of a Prince are you? She's out there upset and you're in here looking for clothes?" Kenji raged.

Rei put a hand on his shoulder "We've learned that sometimes she just needs to be alone, she's perfectly safe up here. This is her kingdom, it's protected"

"Not my point, isn't he supposed to be her boyfriend or something?"

"Or something" she said under her breath.

"Sir, I know it looks like I'm being heartless, but I know when she needs me and when she needs her alone time" Darien explained calmly.

"And how do you know that?" he was getting angrier and angrier by the calmness of the group, it was all so impossible and outrageous. His little girl couldn't possibly be this warrior princess they were all raving about, she was Serena, the girl who was always late for school, and cried at stupid things, his little girl he told bed time stories too while she cuddled up with her bunny.

Up here she was a completely different person, she was grown up and wise. He just didn't understand!

"Serena and I have a connection, Our souls are linked, I can sense her emotions and she can sense mine, it's how I can always tell when she needs me" he explained matter-of-factually, he looked out the window, he knew she was at their lake.

"She's alright, she's working through some things" he said with a furrowed brow "But she'll be ok, she's on her way back with Ikuko"

The group fell silent "I still can't believe he was one of us" Ami thought aloud.

Serena had sat the girls down "Pluto, would you kindly fill us in on what we clearly aren't remembering?" she asked and sat next to her prince.

"Theon was your Mother's partner princess" she said sadly "They were in love and built this kingdom, I was still young and your mother was still training me to be the Guardian of Time"

"Hold on" Amara cut in "We were in training with you, how come we don't remember him?" she said gesturing to Neptune and Saturn

"You did, but it seems that when the Queen erased every ones' memories some were not meant to be remembered at all, I was only allowed to remember because of my post at the gates of time. It's my duty to know everything possible"

Serena knew what was coming next, she never asked questions about her father in the past.

She was always told he had died when she was a baby and he was a good man. She never needed to know any more, she was a happy princess, now the information seemed vital.

"He was your father princess, and he was a good man, but he was weak for power. He and your mother had dreams to create a peaceful kingdom and they did just that"

She paused and took a seat with the others, the burden of the story suddenly feeling heavier on her shoulders.

"But they had different ideas of what type of kingdom they wanted to build. Your mother wanted to unite the planets and have a peaceful Galaxy but your father wanted to create the most powerful kingdom, and rule over the other planets in the Galaxy"

Serena didn't realize she had begun crying, Darien held her as Pluto continued the tale. Their friends sat around with them listening in awe, Kenji felt a strike of pain at the mention of his daughter having another father.

"He argued with you mother but she refused to listen, she tried to reason but he wouldn't listen to her pleas, in the end he grew to resent her and it broke her heart, especially when she discovered she was pregnant and hoped that a baby would help him see reason, but it only strengthened his argument.

"He said you would be his legacy, to have someone follow in his footsteps and rule over the other planets and stars and one day he..well" she paused looking down

"Pluto It's alright" Serena said, it wasn't something she really wanted to hear, but she needed to hear it "Go on"

"He struck her, I was there for that argument, but she didn't crumble, she told him that she didn't want a man capable of striking the one he claimed to love around her child.

"She was smart, she never told him about the Silver Crystal and that she was a hundred times more powerful than he, not after he started talking about ruling the Galaxy. She banished him before you were born, she stripped him of his powers and sent him to life his life as a regular man on Earth, far away from you both and her Kingdom, he's never been able to come back up here since even with powers, your mother made sure he would never be able to hurt her or you ever again"

Michelle now saw the connection "So that's how he found Beryl, wasn't she a maid living in the Earth Palace?"

"Yes, she was" Darien answered "She worked for me" he said with a bitter tone, Serena sat in with her Prince's arms around her fighting all of this internally and he could feel her discomfort, suddenly his hatred for the now deceased Beryl ripened in this moment.

"So this Theon and Beryl got close?" Lita asked

"I do know that he is the one that started to plant the seeds of hatred between the Earth and Moon. He targeted Beryl because he could see how infatuated she was with the Prince and how in love the Prince was with the princess, he hated the thought of the Earth and Moon becoming one kingdom.

"After Beryl got lucky with her new found powers and ally in Metalia he got close to her, and tried to get her to overthrow the Moon in an attempt to get back his kingdom. He promised her that with that kind of power that the Prince would be powerless to resist her and forget about the princess"

"So why wasn't he there that day on the Moon? Or he was and we just weren't allowed to remember?" Amy asked

Pluto shook her head "He was leading the rebellion on Earth, even with Beryl's new found power he was still stuck down there by the Queen's power. But after that day, not even I knew what happened to him, of course I suspected there was a possibility he could have come with us into the future, just like Beryl and Metallia. But there was never a sign of him until now"

After hearing all of this Serena rose and went to leave the room "I think I'll take a walk" she said quietly, Darien followed her out the door and wrapped his arms around her, he could feel her pain and it broke his heart.

"It's alright, I think I just need some air" she said "why don't you see how our friends are getting on?" he gave her a kiss on the head and told her to take her time and he would take care of their friends and her family.

It took some repetition but the others were starting to wrap their heads around what was happening, having two talking cats explain everything though wasn't helping an awful lot.

Though Melvin, Greg, Chad and Sammy thought it was the most incredible thing they had ever seen.

After Ikuko and Rita had woken up, Darien got them to join the rest of the group in the sitting room, though Ikuko insisted on seeing her daughter when she learned she had taken a walk.

Darien directed her where to go, he knew exactly where she would be.

"I can't imagine my father being the reason for my entire life going to hell" Mina mused

"Is she really ok Darien?" Molly asked, he sighed and turned back toward the group of eyes on him.

"She will be, of all of us she's the one that has the most difficulty dealing with all of this. She had only just begun accepting what happened in the past and what's to come in the future, she thought it was all just an act of jealousy and hatred on Beryl's part, now finding out it was because of someone who was supposed to love her.." he raked a hand through his hair "It's just going to take some time, she just needs a little space"

**Plan of action**

The girls decided to take Darien's advice and look around their old rooms for something more comfortable to wear, but of course all they found were their old dresses, but it was better than nothing.

Darien walked to Serenity's room, and searched for the hidden garments in her wardrobe.

"You had the same idea huh?" he was so preoccupied looking through the wardrobe just letting the memories flow the he didn't hear her behind him.

His princess stood in the doorway with a small smile on her face "Remember when we got caught hiding these?" he did. Her mother had walked in to see if she was getting ready for a party and there they were, shoving his clothes in the back of the wardrobe so that he wouldn't have to sneak through the palace and get changed to avoid suspicion of leaving her room wearing the same clothes as the night before.

"It never occurred to us that the sight of me leaving your room in the morning might be suspicion enough" he laughed at how naïve they were back then "I thought she was going to kill me!"

Serena started laughing at him.

"She loved you" they stood for a moment just remembering the Queen who had sacrificed everything for them.

"Well I think this might do a bit better than armor" he said pulling out an old Royal Earth suit.

She laughed "Hmm, I think this would do nicely" she mused as she came up next to him and pulled out a shorter silver colored gown and sandals.

"I'm sorry your party got ruined" she said sadly after they had changed.

"I just wanted to have one happy day for us all together without any of this!" she said gesturing all around her.

"Hey, it was a great party, I really had a good time, I think I was even getting somewhere with your father for a minute there" he laughed. She tried to smile but just couldn't quite manage it.

He put his hands on her shoulders so she would face him.

"I will always remember that party as one of the best times of my life, you want to know why?"

She looked up at him and silently asked 'why?'

"Because you surrounded me with the love and happiness I don't think I would have ever found on my own, I had never felt more blessed and lucky than when I walked through that door with you at my side, surrounded by the people I truly care about and care about me" before she could respond he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lovingly.

Suddenly they heard a collective scream of laughter from a room down the hall "What are they doing?" he said

As they entered the room that Serena remembered to be Rei's old chambers, they found the girls holding up various gowns and outfits.

"Did we seriously wear these things?" Mina shouted, they burst into fits of giggles and it brought a smile to their faces, they looked at each other and joined in the laughter "We really do look weird"

"Agh! Someone get me out of this?!" Lita groaned reaching all around herself to find a zip, it suddenly occurred to them that they had never actually changed out of their sailor outfits and so came another fit of hilarity at the girls trying to remember how to get them off the old fashioned way.

After a lot of pulling and falling over the girls finally managed to get changed into some of their old longer dresses.

It wasn't exactly sweats and t-shirts but it would do.

Darien had left them in privacy to change and re-joined the rest of their friends in the sitting room.

He entered and they were all sitting in a small group with Luna and Artemis who was telling them how he and the girls had begun their journey as the guardians of the Galaxy.

He could see by their faces that they all thought they were by some miracle just hallucinating, and feared Serena's mother might pass out again.

"Luna, Artemis, why don't we take a break from storytelling?" he said with a slight chuckle "I think they've taken in quite enough today"

"Maybe that's a good idea" Artemis agreed with a stretch "Luna would you like to go for a walk?" he asked his feline partner.

"Hmm, that does sound nice" she agreed and so the cats hopped down and walked past Darien out the doors.

"Sorry, they can be a bit full on sometimes, they just want you to know everything" He said

"Where's my daughter?" Kenji asked

"She's fine sir, she's with the girls getting changed, she'll be back soon" he reasoned, and feared that all hopes of getting on his girlfriend's father's good side were fading into nothing.

"So how is everyone coping?" they heard the voice behind them. Serena and the girls now stood in the doorway wearing their old Lunarian dresses and he had to admit, they looked as beautiful now as they did back then. Especially his princess.

Kenji ran toward his daughter crushing her in a hug. She realized quickly that she had disappeared before she could explain anything properly to him.

"I'm sorry I ran off" she soothed "It's ok, how are you?" she asked

"How am I?" he roared "I've just found out my daughter is Sailor Moon and a thousand year old Princess with the power to rule the world and isn't really my daughter! And I'm actually standing in a palace hidden away by magic on the Moon"

"Of course I'm your daughter!" she argued "I lived and grew in this time, it just so happens that I remember another time in another life" she looked sad and Darien could feel the emotions emanating from her.

He came to her side and held her hand to help soothe.

"Daddy I know it's hard, believe me I don't find it a picnic either, and this is not the way I wanted all of you to find out, but I promise you I am still the girl you raised"

He ran a hand through his hair and turned to his wife looking for an answer "She is our daughter Kenji" who decided he needed air and asked Serena if she could take him to the lake they had just some from.

"Of course, you're all more than welcome to explore the grounds, and take a room to rest in, we have hundreds!" she laughed. And so the girls decided to take their friends away and answer all the questions they had. Sammy stayed with Serena and Darien in the sitting room, Pluto, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune also stayed to try and come up with a plan of attack.

"Sammy are you sure you don't want to go with Amy and the others?" she asked her brother.

He shook his head, he didn't want to admit that even though with was the coolest thing he had ever seen, that he was still scared stiff and felt safer with his sister. She was Sailor Moon after all.

"So what are we planning on doing about this Theon?" Uranus asked practically.

Pluto mused "I'm not sure, I certainly wasn't anticipating him"

"But didn't you say that the Queen was like a hundred times more powerful than he because of the Silver Crystal?" Darien said "Serena can control the crystal just as well as she did, if not better after everything we've been through"

"That is true, but when he crashed through that window I could feel his energy. He is a lot more powerful now than he was back then"

She paused and smoothed at her Garnet Rod thoughtfully "And I didn't recognize the other two that were with him" she turned back to her friends "They could be another problem"

Serena reverted back to her stroppy teenage self and slumped down on the plush sofa "Ugh just when I thought we could catch a break!" she moaned "Even after defeating Galaxia the past still finds a way to come back and bite us on the ass!"

"Serena! Language!" she heard Luna's voice and she walked through the door with Artemis.

"We'll find a way, just like we always do" she tried to soothe her princess.

Amara and Michelle began laughing from behind them "What's so funny?" Hotaru asked.

"Well we never find a way, our princess here usually goes in guns blazing against all advice and we have to think on our feet to get her out of trouble!" Amara countered.

The others aside from Serena joined in the laughter who was still stropping on the couch.

"Do you really just run in without some kind of plan?" Sammy asked

"In my defense our plans never really went the way we wanted them too any way" she protested.

"Either way, I don't like the thought of just hiding up here, we've never run away from a threat" Amara said.

"Would you place them in the same power level as any of the enemies we've faced Trista?" Michelle asked.

"If he's as power full as Galaxia then we definitely have a problem" Serena said glumly. Darien squeezed her hand, and the girls fell silent remembering the past year.

"Who's Galaxia?" Sammy asked, whoever this was had clearly struck a nerve for them all.

"She was the last enemy we faced" Hotaru explained "She was incredibly powerful and put everyone through hell last year"

He knew he would get no more out of them than that. Whatever happened with this Galaxia must have been bad.

"I'm not really sure who I could put him on par with" Trista thought aloud "Perhaps Pharaoh 90? Or the Doom Phantom maybe"

"Well that isn't good" Amara mused, all eyes turned to her.

"I get that Galaxia was more powerful but think about it, you needed the power of two silver crystals to banish the Doom Phantom and Pharaoh 90 required Saturn's power of destruction, and I don't think she wants to be reincarnated for a third time"

"I would do my duty" the young soldier said simply.

"No Hotaru, I won't let it come to your power and we have the Golden crystal now right?" Serena said and turned to Darien.

"The power is still new to me but I think I can help" he said.

"I propose we go back down there and see what happens" the others looked at her completely dumbfounded.

"See what happens? You can't be serious?" Amara said incredulously.

"Why not? If we go back down and try to do things as we always do then they're just going to find us and attack, and we'll just end up in that situation anyway" Darien felt a wave of pride at his love. Plans weren't her strong point, but this may just have some logic.

"I think she may just have a point" now the crazy expressions were on him.

"We've always had the advantage of surprise with all of our other enemies, but this Theon knows who we all are. If we go back down now without a plan he'll just find us and attack"

They were now beginning to see the logic, but it didn't mean they liked it.

"Trista, when they girls get back, you tell us all what you know about him, we'll stay up here for a night to regroup and come up with a plan and we attack in the morning"

"Why do I have a horrible feeling about this?" Amara asked Michelle.

When the group returned from their walk, the girls filled them in on what they proposed to do.

They were hesitant but didn't see another better plan.

"So his power in the past lay in the mind not in strength, it was a subtle gift" Trista had begun telling them about Theon of the past.

"He had an ability to control people's thoughts and actions"

"Queen Serenity let him use this power on her people?!" Rei asked.

"No, never, but he was very good as crowd pleasing and public speaking, the real power lay with the Queen, they were the perfect team when she rose to power"

"Well he doesn't sound scary to me" Lita said confidently.

"Maybe not" Amara said "But the problem is he's now a lot stronger and we don't know what he can do now in this time"

"Speaking of time" Ami cut in "How come no one saw him coming?" all eyes turned to the young intellect.

"Trista didn't see him in any time shifts, and Amara and Michelle didn't see him on the outer edges of the universe like they did with the heart snatchers" they mused at her thoughts for a moment.

"Because he was already here" Serena said simply "Serenity banished him to Earth in the past right?"

"That's right" Trista answered.

"What if he didn't perish in the war like everyone else? What if he found a way to stay alive? it would explain why the outers never saw him and if he never re-incarnated then Pluto would never have seen him coming either"

"I suppose It's possible, but why would he wait for a thousand years to attack us?" Rei asked.

Nobody knew the answer to this.

The team decided they were as prepared as they would ever be and so decided it was time for sleep.

After returning from their walk, Serena's father seemed to start to come to terms with what was happening.

Her mother already seemed to accept that this was who she was and as worried as she felt for her daughter, she was incredibly proud.

The girls settled down in their old rooms like they had done a thousand times before.

Their friends had all been directed to guest rooms for some well needed rest.

Serena and Darien settled into her old bed but sleep evaded her, Darien slept soundly next to her so she got up and took a walk through the palace.

As she walked she came to the grand ball room, which also housed her mother's throne.

A thought occurred to her that that throne was now hers, even if she hadn't been crowned yet.

She was still the only heir, and that made her Queen on some level.

She sat on the seat and closed her eyes remembering her mother from a time long forgotten.

"Can't sleep either?" her eyes flew open

"Hotaru? What are you doing up?" She shrugged off the question.

"She is proud of you, you know" she said gesturing to the throne.

"I'd like to think so"

"Don't worry, I know" she smiled

"How?"

"Soldier of destruction and re-birth remember? I can see those who aren't with us anymore" she said simply.

"Seriously?! Like the way Pluto can open portals through time and space?" it suddenly dawned on her that Hotaru had a duty in her past life too, she and Trista weren't around an awful lot these days. Had she gone back to the old ways too?

"I have access to the other side" she confirmed.

"Is that what you and Trista do then? And Amara and Michelle?" She asked.

"We've always been doing our duty since our reincarnation, though my reincarnation was a lot later than the others as you already know" she walked up and sat on the floor next to her princess, she clicked as to what was keeping Hotaru awake.

"You haven't had it easy have you?" she said sympathetically to her friend, Hotaru laughed.

"And you have?" Serena joined in the laughter.

"I suppose not, but I promise Hotaru, no matter how powerful he may turn out to be, I won't let it come to your power" Hotaru looked at her princess "I won't lose you again"

"Thank you" she smiled at the youngest soldier she had grown so fond and proud of.

"Not just for that" Serena's face turned questioning.

"The whole battle with Pharaoh 90 and the others thought I was a threat because of who I was, you never gave up on me, you protected me, and I will always protect you"

Serena felt a wave of emotion as her eyes filled with tears.

"Not just because you're my princess, but because you're the greatest friend I've ever known, and Rini of course" Serena embraced her young friend.

"So why are you up?" she asked Serena.

"Oh you know, my father is the reason my life ended a thousand years ago, the reason I never got married and now he's trying to do it all again" she sat back down and stroked her hand along the throne's arm.

"I should be Queen already by now, sitting on here ruling my kingdom like my mother did" she didn't realize how much she missed her kingdom. Maybe it had something to do with being back but she felt a pang of loss at the barrenness of it now.

"I know I'll be Queen one day and make the world a peaceful place, I've seen it. But when? And how?"

Hotaru put a hand on her friend's arm "I guess it bothers me more now than I thought, since the last battle, I just want a peaceful life now more than ever"

"We'll make it happen" she took her hand and pulled her from the throne "And if we're going to do that we need some rest"

**Time to fight **

In the morning they went to the kitchen in hopes that there might be some kind of food for breakfast before they headed to battle.

As luck would have it, the pantries were fully stocked and so Lita, Andrew and Ikuko made themselves busy as the rest of the group took seats around a large marble table in the dining room next door.

The Soldiers talked over the plan while eating.

"I'll take us to a remote area, somewhere no one else will be hurt" Trista said

"I can't wait to go home, this whole experience has just been too weird" Kenji said.

"Uh actually dad, you guys are going to stay up here" Serena pointed out.

"What?" her mother interjected "but why?"

"We just don't want any of you getting hurt, and you'll be safe up here" she said "We've already agreed that Luna and Artemis stay with you until this is all over"

"We're not being baby sat by cats! I am your father and you will do as I say and take me home young lady!" he blared.

Serena's patience with her father was wearing thin, she tried to sympathize but the rest of them had come to terms with it all, why couldn't he?

"And I think you'll find that this is my kingdom, you are under MY ROOF! And I am the one in charge!" she countered and rose from the table. The group was stunned by the outburst. She had never used her birth right as an order before.

She walked toward the door and turned before exiting.

"I'm not trying to be mean, but you should know by now that I'm really not a child anymore" and then she left the hall leaving the others with awestruck expressions.

"Looks like we're leaving early" Lita said.

"No" Darien stopped her from getting up "You guys finish, I'll go talk to her" he said leaving the room.

He found his princess standing in the doorway to the throne room.

"So was that the princess or Serena?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Maybe a bit of both" she said honestly "It just makes me so angry that he thinks he can just treat me like a child" she huffed leaning her head back into his chest.

"He's just worried about you" he soothed.

"I know" she turned in his arms "But with everything we've gone through, everything we've had to face I haven't felt like a child in a long time"

Darien saw the problem "And having him call you 'young lady' when you've overcome everything you've faced was a bit insulting?"

"Exactly!" He laughed at his princess.

"Honey, no matter how old you get, whatever you've faced, or how powerful you are, you will always be his little girl" he told her.

"And I suppose this is some father instinct you picked up while Rini was around?"

"Maybe" he said innocently.

Their moment was cut short by the sound of heels on marble which meant the girls were done eating and ready to go.

"Alright then" Uranus said

"Let's kick some ass" Jupiter said high-fiving her.

They arrived back on Earth in a large field, secluded as Pluto had promised.

They stood on guard, weapons ready and senses attuned, waiting for the arrival of the enemy.

Minutes passed but nothing happened "Maybe they don't know were back?" Venus said

"No, travelling through space emits a lot of energy, they know were here" Pluto said.

Back on the Moon Luna and Artemis had led the group to a new room in the palace.

Their friends had talked about how they hated just sitting around and wished they could see what was going on.

They tried to reason with the young mortals that it was probably best that they didn't see because a lot of the times the fights got nasty.

But when Artemis slipped up about a particular viewing pool the two cats were in no position to stop them from watching.

And so the small group now sat around a small circular pool in the floor of a small empty room watching what was now happening on Earth.

"This is incredible"

"Fascinating" Greg and Melvin mused.

"This is the magic of the Moon" Luna said proudly.

On Earth the scouts were still tensed for the attack, Mercury was scanning the perimeter with her computer and Neptune had her mirror.

"Negative energy 12 o'clock!" she shouted

"I've got more at 6!" Neptune said, the group formed a tight circle and braced themselves but they saw nothing.

"Are you sure?" Uranus said

"I can feel it" Mars confirmed. Suddenly a crash of lighting came at the group from all sides and struck them down instantly.

"Where did that come from?" Sailor Moon breathed.

"From me!" a voice appeared and as her vision cleared she saw a figure in front of them. Turning they saw the other two forming a triangle around their fallen circle.

"Theon!" Pluto shouted "Stop this madness!" she said as they got to their feet.

"Madness Pluto?" he questioned "The only madness is that I've had to wait over a thousand years to claim my throne!" as he shouted another burst of lighting came but they were ready now.

Saturn raised her shield barely in time to avoid another hit.

"I see you've finally been re-awakened again" he spat at her, but she held her ground and her shield.

"Theon" Sailor Moon's voice cut in "Father?" he looked at her, she looked so much like Queen Serenity.

"Please don't do this, it's not too late, we can make things right" she pleaded.

"Things will be right when I'm sitting back on my throne, but there's just that pesky matter of that god forsaken crystal!"

His eyes were like ice, cutting through her. She put a hand to her locket "It will never be yours" she said.

"Then why not join me my child? Rule with your father" he tried to smooth his voice but the acid was still there.

"You're no father to me" she said getting into battle stance.

No more words were spoken before the other two enemies attacked the barrier. Saturn felt the force and her shield broke under the power.

Darien shielded his princess as the circle was blown apart and the battle begun.

On the Moon their friends and Family watched the battle in horror. Ikuko was sobbing into her husband's arms "That's our baby!" she cried, pointing to Sailor Moon and her Prince lying on the floor with new wounds.

Their friends watched helplessly as the lightning bolts and fire balls were thrown. Swords and scythes clashed and new cuts and wounds were earned by all.

"Oh my god!" Molly cried into Melvin's arm.

"All those times she would come to school so tired and the bruises she used to get" Melvin said.

"I walked in on her getting changed once" Sammy nodded "She had this horrible row of purple bruises on her back, it looked like she broke a rib or something" his parents looked at him horrified "I thought she might have fallen down the stairs or something, but she was really doing this?!"

Luna hopped up next to him "She's stronger than you think" she said and gestured to the pool.

Serena and Darien were up and fighting like they had never been hit, as were the rest of the girls.

"They're strong!" Jupiter breathed heavily after taking a hit from one of the attackers.

"We're stronger" Venus encouraged as she and Mercury helped her up, they nodded and attacked together. It put him down but he just got straight back up.

Mars, Pluto and Neptune were dealing with the other unknown attacker, as they combined their powers they managed to put him down, they thought for good but he too just got back up.

Sailor Moon, Uranus, Saturn and Darien weren't getting much better luck with Theon.

Their weapons clashed but he was a very skilled fighter and fought off the blades with ease.

Darien was knocked to the ground face first and Sailor Moon ran to his side.

"Are you ok?"

"Ugh, I've felt better" he coughed.

"Alright" she rose from the ground "My turn!" she shouted and summoned her tier.

Summoning the power of the crystal she released her attack at Theon and he crumbled to his knees, and collapsed to the ground.

The battle stopped abruptly as the other two realized what had just happened to their leader. They ran to his side and the scouts collected together.

They saw the one check for a pulse and shook his head "He's gone" Sailor Mars said.

"She's right" Pluto said "His energy is gone"

"Who are you both?" Sailor Moon asked the strangers.

"We led the rebellion in the past" the one said "With Metallia's power we crushed the Moon Kingdom" he said triumphantly.

"If you're so proud of destroying the Moon then why are you working with someone who wants to rule it?" Uranus shouted.

"We don't care for ruling the Moon, we want the Earth!" the other said.

"And with the power of the Moon behind you then it's only a matter of time before the Earth is next" Mercury put the pieces together.

"And so that's where he comes in handy" Jupiter summarized gesturing to the body lying in between the men.

"Too bad that didn't work out" Venus gloated.

"That's what you think" the man smirked.

Almost as if on cue the lifeless body of Theon started to move again. "What the hell?" Uranus shouted.

He got up from the ground stretching his arms and neck as if he had just done a workout and not been blasted by the silver crystal.

"Oh by the way, we can't die" he said like it was something obvious they should have anticipated.

"So that's how he survived the war" Pluto said.

Sailor Moon suddenly had her most brilliant idea, she grabbed Saturn's arm and made a connection to her mind with the crystal.

"_I have an idea"_

"_What?" _Saturn replied while keeping her attention focused on the three un-killable men in front of them.

"_Open the gates" _

"_What?!" _then her attention snapped to her princess and she suddenly understood her plan and nodded.

"_I can't hold it for long, my powers still aren't as strong as the past" _she said focusing back on the enemy

"_I'll help you" _

"You may not be able to die!" Sailor Moon shouted at the man boasting about how he survived the war with Metallia's power. She could see the hatred in his eyes at her. A thousand years of resentment and poisoned his soul, he didn't love her, he used her mother.

All eyes turned to her, the crystal began to glow and appeared in her hands "But that doesn't mean you can't go to hell!" and then Saturn raised her scythe and swung down cutting through the air opening a gateway to the other side.

"Everyone now!" Sailor moon shouted while she pointed the crystal toward Saturn giving her more power, holding the gate open was exhausting them fast. The group collected their energy into one huge attack and blasted the three enemies into the portal.

Saturn pointed her scythe to the gate and sealed it, as she sealed it she and Sailor Moon collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, their transformations fading.

"Serena!"

"Hotaru!" they shouted in a blunder.

The image on the pool faded into black "What happened?! Where did they go?" Kenji asked frantically clutching the sides of the pool.

The cats ran out the door and the group followed frantically.

Outside they ran and saw the girls and Darien holding and unconscious Serena, Uranus held Hotaru in her arms looking smaller and fragile.

"Serena!" her mother screamed and ran to her daughter.

"What happened to them?" Molly cried.

"What was that?" Greg asked.

"Is she ok?!" Kenji demanded.

"Please, everyone just give them some space" Pluto said calmly.

"They used a lot of their power today, they just need to rest" Mars explained to them.

"I'm going to get her inside" Darien said, almost to himself looking at his princess. Uranus followed with little Hotaru, cradling her like she did as a baby.

Neptune touched his arm "She's going to be ok" she soothed "She's taken worse than that"

He nodded "I know, I just wish she wouldn't have to go through anything like that at all"

**A new chapter**

Serena woke with Darien lying next to her asleep. It was dark outside and she could tell she was back on the Moon.

She didn't know if her plan had worked but guessed she would find out soon enough. Brushing a lock of hair from his face she smiled, just thankful that he was still there with her.

This tiny movement woke him from his light sleep "How are you?" he smiled and kissed her gently.

"A little weak and tired" she said honestly "But I'll be back to normal soon enough, keeping those gates open took a lot" and suddenly she remembered and shot up out of bed "Hotaru!" he got up and reached to steady her as she lost balance.

"Pluto says she'll be ok, she just needs some rest, as do you" he said sternly siting her back down.

But she shook her head and got back to her feet "No I want to see her" he sighed and gave in.

"Ok but its late, you've both been out all day, your parents haven't long gone to sleep" she nodded and took his arm for support.

He guided her through the corridor to Hotaru's room, where Trista sat next to her reading some ancient book.

"You're awake" she smiled and embraced her princess "That was a smart move you both had, extremely risky, but smart" she said looking to the young soldier in her bed.

Serena walked and sat next to her "Is she going to be ok?" she asked.

"She should be up by morning" Trista said calmly.

"I didn't know it would take this much out of her" she said with tears in her eyes. Serena remembered when they first met. How fragile and sick she always looked.

"Opening the gates to other dimensions is a lot harder than time and space" Trista said stroking her hair "Since you're tearing through the very fabric of reality"

"She'll be ok" Darien said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I can help her" Serena said closing her eyes.

"Serena no!" Darien stopped her, he could see Serena planned on using the crystal to help her recover.

"Let me" he said as he came around the bed and held Hotaru's hand.

The glow and warmth of the golden crystal flowed through him into her little body and she began to stir.

"You healed me?" she asked her prince.

"The more you slept the more afraid I got" he said a little breathlessly "I didn't know if it would work but I had to try"

"You've used up to much energy Prince" Trista advised and he nodded and let go of Hotaru.

Her eyes opened slowly "Did we win?" she asked. Serena had forgotten all about the fight in her concern for her friend.

"Yes my young friend" Trista smiled "But don't you two ever pull a stunt like that again until you can handle it you hear me?" she scolded.

They both nodded sheepishly and embraced. It was over, and now all she had to deal with was her family.

Namely her father.

She didn't want to wake them, they deserved to rest, so she and Darien went back to bed. She would talk to them tomorrow.

As they lay in bed huddled together Serena looked out the window and saw the Earth in all its glory.

It was still there, thanks to her and her friends, it was a world she loved and was proud to protect, and one day she would be its Queen.

But here she lay now, back on the Moon. Her first home.

It was filled with happiness and laughter and taken away from her while she was a young princess.

With all of her friends and family up here and the love of her life she felt complete.

And not just complete, for the first time in what felt like forever she was completely at peace.

"I want to get married up here" she said quietly.

Darien sat up slightly so he was above her "Is that a proposal?" he smiled and she mirrored his joy.

"It's a demand" he laughed.

"Then we'll do it tomorrow" he said and kissed her passionately.

That morning the couple rose before everyone else, they dressed in their trditional formal attire. But as they were sneaking through the palace they found Trista standing in the throne room wearing a formal gown smiling at them both.

"You know?" Serena asked

"Guardian of time remember? I knew before you did" she said simply. Serena really had to stop being surprised at what her friends could do.

They heard a low murmur of voices and footsteps getting closer. The girls stopped and saw the scene in front of them "What's going on?" Mina asked

"Just tying up some loose ends" Trista said

"Loose ends?" Lita said confused

"Oh my god! They're getting married!" Rei shouted exited "I knew I could feel something in the air!"

There were hugs and cries of congratulations when Serena's family and friends collected into the room together.

"Did I just hear that right?" Ikuko said

"Mom, dad. Darien and I have decided to get married" she said smiling, but she waited for her father to go nuts.

To her surprise there were no hysterics only smiles of acceptance.

"Congratulations baby! I'm so glad you're ok" her mother hugged her then her father came up.

"Dad I'm sorry for my outburst yesterday" he shook his head.

"No I'm sorry sweetie" he hugged her "I saw what happened down there, you really are grown up now, and I'm proud of you" she began to cry.

"I'm still your little girl" she said, and he turned to Darien

"Always" he smiled.

"I saw you protect her with your own life, I see how much you love her, and I'd be proud to call you my son" he said and gave the young prince a hug.

No one had called Darien their Son since he was six years old. He had to admit, it felt nice.

"There's no time to waist!" Trista interrupted the hugs and laughter.

"You all need to get changed, and girls find something for our other guests to wear please, you have an hour before the guest of honor arrives" she said with a mischievous grin.

"Guest of honor?" Serena said

"You'll see" she winked

As the couple entered the throne room which was now miraculously decorated for a wedding, they saw all of their loved ones sitting on two sides waiting for the ceremony to begin.

They both wondered who this mysterious guest of honor could possibly be.

Trista stood where the vicar would usually be, standing in front of the throne. Being the oldest and wisest soldier it was only fitting that she officiate. Serena's mother and father stood on each side, her mother on her side and her father on Darien's to complete the giving away part.

They approached the throne and Kenji walked toward them both and joined both of their hands and led them to Trista.

The ceremony was short and simple as they came to their vows Serena was already crying.

Darien went first "Serena, there are no words or actions that could express what you mean to me" he began and he touched her face "My princess, my love, my life, my hope and dreams. You are my reason to wake up every morning. Before I met you and we began our journey, I was bitter, cold and resentful. But one day this girl threw a test paper that hit my head and my world went up-side-down and inside-out for the better. I love you more than anything in this world and I can't wait to live the rest of my life with you"

He finished and touched his head too hers.

"Serena" Trista said softly.

"Before Luna crept through my window those years ago I was a clumsy cry-baby that would goof off and dream about prince charming, and food" she laughed. And then everything changed, we began this journey, I met you and remembered you and loved you. Nothing has tested my mind, body and heart more than our life together. We've been through some bad times, times I thought I wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning, when I just wanted to let go of the fight. But I never did, and I never will because I know that no matter what they throw at us, you will always be by my side. I will always fight to be at your side because it's where I belong. You are my soul mate and I will love you forever"

There wasn't a dry eye in the room as the pair exchanged their vows because they could feel the truth in every word.

Trista pronounced them Man and Wife and as the clapping began it suddenly stopped.

The ceremony was interrupted by a light coming from behind Trista.

The glow faded into the shape of a person, not just any person, Queen Serenity stood by the throne in a urethral form.

"My dear Princess" she smiled at the young couple who finally understood what Trista said about a guest of honor.

"Your time has come" she said happily.

"Who are you?" Ikuko asked in awe.

"I am Queen Serenity, I thank you for taking such loving care of my princess when I could not" she smiled a heart-warming smile

"You're her other mother?" she nodded, she could feel the love coming from this angel like creature.

"Now that you two are finally married, it's time to take my place as the Queen" she said.

She held her hands together and a magnificent golden crown appeared in them. She looked at Darien who was smiling at his new wife as she took a seat on the throne.

"My dear prince, she needs a king" she laughed and motioned for him to join them.

A second throne appeared next to the Queen's and a new crown was in Trista's hands.

"As the Queen of the Moon Kingdom, I officially renounce my throne and crown my daughter Princess Serenity, heir to the Silver Millennium, holder of the Silver Crystal the Neo-Queen Serenity. Ruler of the Moon Kingdom.

And at her side I crown the first King of the Moon Kingdom, uniting the Earth and Moon into one Kingdom, Prince Darien the Neo-King Endymion"

And with that the new rulers sat at their thrones with their friends and family applauding as the Queen faded away once more into her after life, smiling at her daughter now finally at peace.

The new King and Queen took each other's hands ready for the next chapter in their lives together.


End file.
